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Delaying Solid Food for Babies May Help Them Avoid Obesity as Adults

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by Carolyn Buchanan on March 21, 2013

Carolyn Buchanan

About the Author

B.C. (before children), Carolyn was trained as a journalist — a generalist journalist. Now as a parent, she experiences news differently. What was once an item of passing interest, i.e. "Toy Train Runs on Lead Paint" or "Midnight Release Planned for Latest Power Rangers Movie" now consumes her life. Still she trains her eye to find the family relevance in everything new, and that's what she endeavors to share with you here. As a parent, and a writer for What to Expect, she will be your family-news filter (with a personal twist).

About the Blog

WhatToExpect.com supports Word of Mom as a place to share stories and highlight the many perspectives and experiences of pregnancy and parenting. However, the opinions expressed in this section are those of individual writers and do not reflect the views of Heidi Murkoff of the What to Expect brand.

Trending With Moms

When to start your baby on solid food is a matter of some debate. Most of us are in a big hurry with the first child, eager to document baby's first bite. But a new University of Buffalo study may give parents pause and encouragement to delay solids a bit longer.

The researchers' work with laboratory rats showed that eating foods high in carbohydrates immediately after birth may program individuals to overeat and put them at risk for a lifetime of increased weight gain and obesity. The study was published in the American Journal of Physiology, Endocrinology and Metabolism.

"Many American baby foods and juices are high in carbohydrates, mainly simple sugars," said author Mulchand S. Patel, PhD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry and associate dean for research and biomedical education at the University of Buffalo. "Our hypothesis has been that the introduction of baby foods too early in life increases carbohydrate intake, thereby boosting insulin secretion and causing metabolic programming that in turn, predisposes the child to obesity later in life."

Patel and colleagues studied a rat population for a period of 20 years, feeding newborn rat pups special milk formulas — either one that was similar to rat milk with a higher concentration of fat-derived calories, or one enriched with carbohydrate calories. At three weeks, the carbohydrate milk-fed rats were weaned onto rat chow; some were given free access to the food, while others were kept on a moderate calorie diet. What researchers discovered is that eventually both groups of carbohydrate-enriched milk feeders were predisposed to overeat and become obese, while the rats whose metabolic development followed a more natural course — i.e. mother's milk for a longer duration of time — were not.

The good news is that parents can avoid this "metabolic reprogramming" that predisposes their babies to weight battles later in life, by following the American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines which recommend that solid foods aren't given until a baby is four- to six-months old. Infant nutrition guidelines can also be useful to a parent in terms of ensuring that your baby is getting what she needs to thrive, now and throughout life

When did you / do you plan to introduce solid food to your baby? Do you watch carbohydrate consumption for yourself and your children?

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